Tagged: round-up

Ahhh bonjour ma petite tasse! Regardez-vous ma blog post de Paris Fashion Week! As you can tell, I’m basically fluent in French, it’s one of my many talents. For those not as clever as me at French, here’s a round-up of the sartorial offerings from Paris Fashion Week.

STOP. BALMAIN TIME! An 80s wipe-clean wonderland, Balmain was every theatrical tin-foil fashion hope and more, we have Balmain in at my work all the time, can’t wait to try and shoe-horn myself into the amazing waistcoat outfit on the right, rip it, and be evicted because I can’t pay for it. ASPIRATIONAL!

Balmain

Alexander Wang’s much anticipated first collection since his controversial appointment at Balenciaga. And it wasn’t horrible. It’s still very much Wang-esque (not a word I’ll use again, promise) but with undeniable Christobal influence. I liked it, it’s a nice return to the classic, clean Balenciaga, rather than the ultra modernism Ghesquiere brought with his metal leggings/Egyptofunk/riding hats etc, which I loved, but I don’t think Wang could have followed on from or replicated in the same vein without it looking like some kind of shit Project Runway ~modernism~ challenge.

Balenciaga

Sacai

I know leather panelling has been done over and over and over, but I want this, all of this, and variations of this, forever.

Neil Barrett

Really enjoying the Brave New World/Handmaid’s Tale minimal ~dystopian sexuality~ here, and how could I not love the wimple. I’m all about a wimple. I’m not ususally a huge fan of Mugler, but the simplicity, and the murky blue with crisp white, speaks to my inner future gimp.

Mugler

Manish Arora

Kenzo

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac

Each season Givenchy is usually my go-to, but the disparity between the menswear (99% of the time, amazing) and the womenswear (67% of the time, amazing) starts to show more and more. I love the floral leather biker and the quilted bomber, super, but the random sequinned arm? The cheap ill-fitting mesh? The shiny polka-dots? This both confuses and upsets me.

Givenchy

These are my dream outfits until I’m thin enough to slip under my office door, rather than walking through it. Probably not very practical day to day (getting closed in bus doors, dropping Tesco Value lasagne down yourself, cycling – all trials I face daily) but commanding and beautiful all the same. I do miss the structured, body-con Pugh of olde, but a shift in silhouette hasn’t lost the dark drama he’s built his brand on.

Gareth Pugh

Felipe Oliviera Baptista

Devastee

Acne

Yohji Yamamoto

I’m not ususally a fan of Valentino, not nearly enough black, leather or androgyny for me, but this china plate-esque collection has reminded me that I AM A GIRL, HERE ME SQUEAL!

Valentino

Do you feel dizzy? Disorientated? It might be to do with Yves Saint Laurent spinning so hard in his grave that the Earth is turning faster than usual. #SOFTGRUNGELAURENT HAS STRUCK AGAIN. Hedi’s latest collection (and we know how much I enjoyed his last menswear offering) has been met with a resounding NON from critics, and rightly so. His access to the Topshop throw-out must be STOPPED.

Saint Laurent Paris

This season marks Claire Wright Keller’s fourth at the helm of Chloe, and it’s definitely her best yet. Probably my favourite collection from Paris, simple and minimal with great tailoring and a perfect colour palette.

Chloe

Chloe

Who invented the tartan laundry bag? Has anyone got his email? He’s definitely been ripped off at Celine. Blatant plagiarism aside, Celine was it’s usual super self, a really nice palette and pleasing oversized yet tailored shapes (so excited to put on 15 stone before winter and be able to shop at Celine rather than Millets!).

One of the most striking models of the past decade and signed to agency powerhouse SUPREME, Hanne walked a whopping 55 shows in AW12 and holds the unofficial title of The Only Interesting Thing To Ever Come Out Of Belgium. Hanne is as famous for her fashionable turns off the catwalk as much as on. Hanne has a rep for wearing the most outlandish and seemably unwearable looks without looking like she’s cursing a poor over-excitable PR in her head. Remember her in Comme a few weeks ago?

My favourite Hanne looks are where she’s more understated, and requires a lot less ironing.

London is the fashion week I look forward to the most. Generally offering the most diversity, originality and an over-arching sense of fun without being trashy, London’s rich fashion history has solidified our place as one of the leading fashion cities of the world. This season however, was a colossal let down. Individually, there were some really nice looks (hayyyy Louise Gray, Peter Pilotto) but overall, everything just felt flat, mature and, worst of all, sensible. Tones were muted and hemlines were long, there were variations on themes that have been exhausted seasons before. Has London finally run out of ideas or has the eternally young London girl finally grown up for good? Here’s the best of a bad season: